Conard High School Graduates 339

A total of 339 students graduated from Conard High School in West Hartford Monday night.

(JON OLSON | Special To The Courant)

RACHEL LOMBARDI

Conard Class of 2015 told to "show the world our robes of life"

WEST HARTFORD — Conard High School's Class of 2015 received diplomas at commencement ceremonies Monday evening, marking an end to high school and the start of a new chapter.

At Conard's 58th graduation ceremonies, 339 students were honored in the school gymnasium. Graduates wore red and light gray robes and caps. The girls held roses in their hands, while the boys had red roses pinned to the front left side of their gowns.

Rebecca Rose Palma, the class president, opened the ceremony by recognizing and thanking members of the school board, the principal, assistant principals, faculty, staff, parents, guardians, family, friends and her fellow graduates.

Nancy DePalma, assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and assessment, brought about a few laughs early in the ceremony when she read aloud a few senior quotes from the yearbook.

Principal Julio M. Duarte urged the students to simply remember to "work hard and never give up" as they grow.

Ronald Wziontko, faculty speaker and a health and physical education teacher, said that the graduates should move forward appreciating those around them and use the support of others to drive their success.

Lia Negron, a student speaker, talked about a moment during her sophomore year when she took an advanced placement course and was terrified from the beginning. After she received an "F" on the first test, her heart sank and she thought that she was a failure, but she shared a lesson from the experience.

Negron said that she learned that the experience is more important than the score.

"As students, we should feel we are in a safe zone that we can venture out into to challenge ourselves, and if we do make a mistake, we can grow and learn from that misstep," Negron said. "We should all see that it is OK to fail moving forward, as long as the failing is used as a learning experience."

Henley Solomon, another student speaker, talked about "rags" that everyone carries along with them throughout life such as race, gender, ethnic background and physical features.

He said that a majority of the time, we curse and look down on these features because they do not seem admirable or valuable, but, according to Solomon, each "rag" has a great deal of value.

Solomon's theory to a successful life is to change one's perspective and take one step at a time.

"It is time to turn our rags into robes for the world to admire," Solomon said. "Graduates, you ran this race, you have enjoyed the full distance and have stayed strong. Go out and show the world our robes of life."